Page 8 of Love Me, Cowboy
The country vet looked less offended by that one. “Thanks, I think, but that doesn’t change the fact that your friend will be gone after the wedding. No sense starting what I can’t finish.”
Claire nodded. “Yeah, that’s the way of it. But you know what Georgia would say?”
He arched an eyebrow.
Enjoying a bit of matchmaking, Claire said, “Where’s the fun in that?”
* * *
Tyler ignored the desire to rip Reed’s throat out as he watched the man exit the dance floor with Claire on his arm. They’d looked right cozy during their dance, with Claire’s arms around Reed’s neck, her body pressed against his. The vet had two things going for him.
Tyler liked him. And Claire returned to the bar alone.
She was a few feet away before she spotted Tyler standing next to his sister, and she stumbled when their eyes met. Tyler reached out to steady her, heat shooting up his arms the moment his hands made contact with her waist.
Hazel eyes wide, Claire said, “Thanks,” but the word came out on a breath, barely audible over the country tune pumping through the club.
Unable to suppress the lopsided grin, Tyler nodded, allowing his hands to linger seconds longer than necessary, then stepped back.
“About time you hit the dance floor, Claire Bear,” Georgia said. If Claire didn’t know any better, she’d swear there was a hint of annoyance in Georgia’s voice.
“I was desperate to outwit a couple of cowhands,” she said, watching Georgia’s face closely. “Reed was nice enough to help me out. Looks like you made quite an impression on him today.”
Georgia’s eyes snapped to where Reed stood on the other side of the bar. “I let him play hero is all,” she said, eyes dropping to her drink. “Guys like that sort of thing.”
What Reed liked was Georgia, but Claire let the subject drop.
“You looked good out there,” Mary Catherine said to Claire. “But I want to see some of the old moves. Don’t you do the twists and turns anymore?”
Claire climbed onto an empty stool between her friends. “I’m a respectable schoolteacher now,” she answered. “I don’t go out honky-tonkin’ like we used to.”
“That doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten how to do it.” Mary Catherine tugged on her brother’s sleeve. “Take her out for a spin, Tyler. Show the rest of this place how it’s done.”
“I don’t think so,” Claire said, shaking her head in Tyler’s direction. He stood tall and sweet next to Mary Catherine, with one hand held out in her direction.
“If you don’t mind a partner with a bum shoulder,” he said. “I promise not to embarrass you.”
He had to play the injured cowboy card. How could she say no to that?
With a deep breath, Claire hopped off the stool and took his hand. “All right. One dance.”
Instead of simply walking onto the floor, Tyler twirled her onto the hardwoods, sliding seamlessly in between two couples doing a simple two-step. Picking up the step as if she’d been trained to it from birth, Claire finished the spin, locked her right hand with Tyler’s as her left landed on his shoulder, and the pair began floating around the dance floor backward.
Tyler turned them a couple times before wiggling his brows as his smile grew daring. Claire couldn’t help but laugh, then she nodded, giving him approval to try some fancier tricks. Without warning, she found herself spinning around him, and then tucked against his side, both of them facing forward.
They traveled that way for a full turn around the floor, then Claire was spinning again, this time ending up facing backward, but still to Tyler’s side, their hands entwined at shoulder height in what she thought was called a window. Claire hadn’t danced like this since her college days, and some of the moves’ names had faded.
Thankfully, she still remembered how to do them, since keeping up with Tyler would be impossible if she didn’t. Another twirl and they were face-to-face again. Then the song faded out, replaced with a slower waltz.
Claire smiled and nodded, expecting Tyler to escort her back to the bar, but instead, he pulled her in, sliding his arm around the small of her back. He had to bend a bit to make it work, which landed his lips next to her ear.
When Claire didn’t move right away, Tyler whispered, “Dance with me.”
Her eyes slid shut as every nerve ending in her body came to life. They moved through the waltz with no tricks or fancy turns. The classic country tune filled the room and for all Claire knew, they could have been in the bar alone in that moment. Memories flooded into her mind as she tucked her face against his neck, breathing in his scent and heat and all that was the man she’d loved for far too long.
By the time the song was over, they were practically wrapped around each other. Second by second, reality returned. Tyler lifted his head, Claire stepped back, and the rush of cool air where his heat had been was like a bucket of cold water.
She knew that everything she’d ever felt for him was written across her face. Keeping her head down, she let him navigate her through the crowd by her elbow, grateful he didn’t speak. Steps away from her friends, Claire broke contact and reached for her tiny purse on the bar. “I need to powder my nose.”